1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a windlass, and more particularly to a self-locking windlass.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The windlass comprising a crank rotatable drum about which a cable is wound for use in pulling or raising loads of various types such as water buckets, anchors, boats or the like are well known in the art. With such a windlass, a problem arises in those situations where the cranking force is inadvertently released causing the load to suddenly drop or slide due to gravity. This results in rapidly unwinding the cable from the drum possibly causing one or more of the following, namely -- damage to the load when it strikes a stop member, damage to an operator who may be struck by the rotating crank, and damage to the windlass when the cable reaches the end of its travel. These problems have been overcome in the prior art by a locking mechanism comprising a ratchet wheel and pawl for preventing reverse rotation of the drum. Additional mechanism is needed to deactivate the pawl to permit unwinding the cable. Applicant's self-locking windlass prevents rapid unwinding of the cable without the necessity of the prior art locking mechanism or pawl deactivating mechanism.